Fight Nights

Saturday in Atlantic City, NJ, Matthyse knocked out Lamont Peterson in the third round. In a fight that most pundits saw as a 50/50 pick ’em, the action inside the ring proved to be far from it after Matthyse lost the first round. But he slowly began to get inside and hurt Peterson, dropping him minutes before the bell. In the third, Matthyse landed a thunderous punch that knocked Peterson into next year. Peterson was done.

This gives Matthyse a devastating win over a 140 lbs champion, after many critics of his claimed that he had not fought anyone–pointing to controversial loses to Devon Alexander, who fought on the undercard, and Danny Garcia.

Matthyse wants to fight Garcia so bad that his fight was fought at 141 lbs. Why? Well, the WBC mandatory opponent for Garcia’s belt is Matthyse and he did not want to do anything to lose that fight. If Garcia does not take the fight he is ducking Matthyse. As for Peterson since the fight was fought at a catchweight, he is still the IBF junior welterweight champion.

Alexander outclasses Purdy

He is not always fun to watch, but Devon Alexander tends to win a lot and this time broke away from his clinching style as he focused more on applying relentless pressure to Lee Purdy’s torso. Purdy was a late minute replacement for Kell Brook who got hurt twice in the midst of trying to fight Alexander. The fight was supposed to be for Alexander’s IBF Welterweight title yet with Purdy missing weight the fight was changed to a non-title 12 rounder. Purdy tried to work the Euro high guard and walk into Alexander’s range to deliver punches, but by the time the sixth round had ended his corner had witnessed enough–telling the ref to stop the fight. For Alexander, this was a change in pace from his last few fights, but also a bit of the same ‘ol same ‘ol as people will still question whether this was just a one-time affair with excitement as his opponent was clearly not in his league.

Porter keeps his zero

Shawn Porter fought on the ShoExtreme portion of the Matthyse vs. Peterson card and kept his perfect record intact, defeating the previously unbeaten Phil Lo Greco. Le Greco looked lost and confused at points in the fight as he was unable to keep up with the power, speed, and boxing ability of Porter.

Mosley outpoints Cano

In Cancun, Mexico, “Sugar” Shane Mosley turned back the clock as he defeated Pablo Cesar Cano in a bout that aired on Fox Deportes. The 41-year-old Mosley was nearly twice as old as Cano, 23, and came on strong at the end of the fight after starting slow. The big story of the fight was that Mosley found his right hand of old which seemed to land at will against Cano and brought him a close 115-113 decision. Mosley seems to be next in line for Adrien Broner if Broner gets by Paulie Malgnaggi on June 22.

UFC goes to Brazil

UFC Middleweight Vitor Belfort has had a career resurrection as of late, especially after last night’s win over the last Strikeforce middleweight champ, Luke Ruckhold, whom he knocked out in the first round with a spinning back kick. The big story, however, was that Belfort found himself in another steroid controversy. He’s been busted for steroids in the past and is not allowed by the Nevada State Athletic Commission to take TRT (Testerone Replacement Therapy), a form of treatment that helps boost hormone levels in older fighters. But red flags have come up around fighters who have used steroids in the past since they may not have normal testosterone due to drug abuse. Belfort at first tried to deny the TRT usage, yet now feels that everyone should be on TRT. The big problem is that when he opens the door for such a big X-Factor into the narrative it is hard to just focus on the win and not wonder if the drugs helped him.

Jones vs. Lebedev steals the show

In one of the bloodiest fights in recent years and with Dennis Lebedev’s WBA Cruiserweight title on the line in Moscow, Guillermo Jones battered and beat Lebedev until his left eye swelled shut until he looked like Sloth from “The Goonies.” It was a fight for the ages and one only visible in the U.S. on choppy Internet streams.

For some reason–we can only assume political–the promoters did not stop the fight. Lebedev surprisingly and seemingly was winning the fight somehow with only one eye, yet in the 11th round a combo of pure exhaustion and accumulated punishment proved too much for Lebedev, who collapsed. Though he could get to his feet, he struggled to show much of his wits about him and the ref called an end to the fight.